COIMBATORE: Social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, widely known as “Padman”, has claimed that he has been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Muruganantham said he initially found it hard to believe the news, explaining that Nobel nominations cannot be self-submitted or made by family members, but must come from eligible third parties. He stated that a dean from Aravind Eye Hospital in Pondicherry, along with a team from the United States working with the institution, had put forward his name, and that the nomination was reportedly accepted within 24 hours.
According to the official Nobel Prize website, there are 287 nominees for the 2026 Peace Prize, including 208 individuals and 79 organisations. The Nobel Committee said its evaluation process involves consultation with leading global experts, including academics with specialist knowledge in relevant fields, as well as extensive review of scholarly research and background material.
Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, is best known for developing low-cost sanitary pad-making machines aimed at improving menstrual hygiene in rural communities across India. His work also inspired the Bollywood film Pad Man, starring Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor, which later received a National Film Award.
(With inputs from ANI)